d-newman (@dnewman)

Thank you all for your responses. It’s still a bit of a problem but not as bad as it was. She did some chemical peels, and I thought that helped the appearance of the red marks, but she didn’t like the redness and flaking afterward. She’s still on birth control and she washes her face with a gentle cleanser and exfoliates occasionally. She isn’t constipated and we haven’t tried the suggestion of probiotics yet. I’ll update when she does and whether or not it helps. With a little makeup, you can barely tell she had the problems she had. I would like to see her eat a little healthier, I’m sure that would help as improving your diet always does, but it’s not easy to change your habits, especially while living in a dorm in college 🙂

It’s not as bad as it was, but she had seen a dermatologist and had done the whole antibiotic, skin care, topical antibiotic and finally accutane. It all helped a little but it didn’t clear it up completely. Birth control has helped the most I think. It’s just amazing to me that it is such a problem with so many kids and no one really knows how to get rid of it for good. I guess that’s why medicine is called a “practice”.

In your mother’s article she mentioned that her oldest son, who was on and off antibiotics regularly for awhile, had the worst problem with acne. My daughter also had ear tubes and fought ear, nose and throat infections with antibiotics growing up. It could be coincidence, but it makes sense that her system may not function as well having been on and off antibiotics for much of her adolescence.

I’m coming to the conclusion that intestinal health does affect the skin. I know when I’m not 100% well inside, I also have some issues with my skin. I do believe it is all intertwined and I’m glad to hear someone reputable back it up with experience and science.

After reading your reply, and your mother’s article, I’ll be shopping for a probiotic for both me and my daughter. She didn’t mention any particular brand so I hope they’re all relatively the same. It’s definitely worth a try and thank you again for taking the time to reply.

I searched for this on the site but haven’t found any discussions about it. My 17 yr old daughter has been having problems with acne for about 2 years now. We have done all the topical treatments, the topical and oral antibiotics and even Solodyn (Accutane). The Solodyn did help a little but not enough to warrant the dryness, fatigue and muscle aches. We are now trying birth control pills. Nothing else seems to be working. We are also trying chemical peels to see if that helps. Has anyone out there found any relief from facial acne? It is such a huge problem, for kids especially, it’s hard to believe we haven’t been able to conquer this yet. Any suggestions?